Hijo de la Luna
by A Tale Of Brothers
Summary: Flynn could have never imagined just what was waiting for him beyond the darkest parts of the forest. AU based on "Hijo de le Luna" by Mecano (1991).
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hey guys! I'm _so_ sorry for all my lack of activity lately, truly, but I've been drowning in WIPs and exams these last few months. I know this isn't an update on any of my multi-chaptered fics but a little two-shot I've been meaning to write for a while now, completed and posted in time for the holidays. Sorry this one isn't very christmassy, but I hope it still counts. Merry Christmas and enjoy! =)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Tales of Vesperia or Hijo de La Luna (1991), for they respectively belong to Namco Bandai and Mecano.

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The night had fallen long ago when Flynn lifted his gaze. Exhausted, he slumped against the nearest tree to rest his sore feet. They hurt from walking and walking for countless hours, back and forth and seemingly heading nowhere.

"I'm lost."

He had somehow managed to convince himself of the opposite for the past couple hours – that might as well have been half a day, or two, or three – but there was only so much Flynn could hope for and it was high time to admit his defeat. He wasn't one to give up easily, but his endurance was wearing thin. The morning of his departure felt like a far away memory now, as unreachable as the stars shimmering high above.

He leaned his head against the tree, closed his eyes and absently run his fingers through the soft grass while waiting for sleep to overcome him. His limbs felt heavy from hiking endlessly. The instincts of a well-trained soldier rang bells in his mind, begging him to stay awake – when night falls in the woods, one had better stay on his guard. But Flynn's eyelids were so, so heavy. Sleep left no room in his drowsy mind for vigilance, and he would rather give in to the tempting darkness than bother staying awake.

Silence settled in the forest. Wind occasionally howled quietly. An owl flapped its wings and took off into the night.

But then – a whisper. It was low and quiet, but had not gone unheard by Flynn. Through the gentle embrace of slumber, his senses slowly woke again as another whisper ushered through the trees. And another. Straining to listen, Flynn couldn't make out anything else than unclear murmuring and yet, it was as though it tugged at his very being. Whether he stood from curiosity or by someone else's will, he couldn't fathom, but his feet traced a path through the woods again all the same.

Following the whispers, as subtle and quiet as flowing water, he was uncontrollably pulled forward, farther and farther away. Flynn's thoughts were a mess of fear and excitement. His body moved on its own, but the whispering sounded appeasing rather than harmful. It led him through damp pathways and coppice, up and down and left and right, until his steps were finally forced to an abrupt halt.

Flynn was aghast. He standing at the border of a large, empty clearing, and at the center, a person was kneeling in the grass. Their silhouette was slender and still, while dark hair spilled on their back, head facing the sky. Flynn noticed their lips moved with the slightest motions, and whispers resounded clear and soft again like a long-forgotten melody. It seemed not even the wind dared to interrupt the flow of quiet words. The entire clearing was bathed in the moon's silvery light, shining brighter as the mystery person whispered, on and on, as though they were having a private conversation. Oddly enough, Flynn was ready to bet they were.

Suddenly the whispering ceased, and he could have sworn he'd caught the glimpse of a tear glistening before the fascinating person slowly turned to face him. Flynn's heart skipped a beat. He might have been left speechless before, but now it was as if his mind had gone completely blank, leaving him astounded and helpless.

The person's face – which was definitely that of a man, Flynn realized – was nothing like he had ever witnessed before. Skin as pale as the moon shinining above was framed by long, dark strands. The wind ran through silken hair that reminded him of the night sky, and Flynn couldn't find it in him to tear his gaze away from the stranger's coal eyes. Entire constellations seemed to reflect in them, sparkles of something ethereal that trapped his very soul.

For a moment Flynn wondered if he was dreaming. Such a creature – person – couldn't possibly exist outisde of his hazy imagination. And yet, as much as he longed to pinch himself and verify, his body remained unmoving and his eyes remained stuck on the unworldly appearance with the obscure gaze.

And then, out of the blue, the stranger smiled. His features softened and a quiet chuckle escaped those surreally pale lips, a brief sound that flew through the air and pulled Flynn out of his awestruck trance. Finally, life inched back into his numbed limbs. Unsure what to do, he looked back to the intriguing man, whose smile had turned into a smirk.

Flynn needed a second to gather his thoughts and realize he was expected to react. Hesitantly he smiled back, mute and awkward. The stranger's grin broadened, and so did the world.

"Hey, I'm Yuri. And you are…?"


	2. Chapter 2

Flynn caught himself struggling to remember how on earth he ended up sitting in the dead of the night on damp grass, facing a man whose sole existence reminded him of a dream. Rational as he was, he felt there was a lot more to it. Dreams were fleeting and as far as he knew, weren't supposed to tug at your heart the way merely looking at this man did. Or were they?

Yuri (at least that was what he'd introduced himself as) was watching him intently. Cross-legged and hands resting on his knees, his face betrayed no feelings whatsoever. Flynn thought back to the single tear he'd witnessed falling down his pale cheek, to the smirk and cocky tone lacing Yuri's words, and wondered what else lied beyond the porcelain mask.

"Stop ogling at me like I'm some bizarre creature, it's weird."

Yuri's voice was low and his features remained impassive. Flynn was unable to pinpoint the nature of his tone, unable to tell whether he was being casually admonished or given an outright warning. Despite his definite interest in the foreign man Flynn chose to stay cautious, which did little to stop the sharp words from escaping his lips, however.

"Same to you. I feel like I'm being studied and it's making me quite uncomfortable."

Restless was a more fitting word, really. Even more unsettling was Yuri's following reaction, though, as his frozen mask suddenly cracked into a wide smirk. "Okay, I'll give you that one."

The silence was neither awkward or comfortable – something in-between, both serene and singular. Yuri's eyes were shut and his face peaceful as the wind picked up and blew through his hair. Flynn felt rather helpless. What was he supposed to do? His mind was filled with countless questions of what, why and how, yet all he managed to whisper was a feeble: "Who are you?"

Yuri frowned, keeping his eyes closed. "I told you."

"No, I mean- who _are_ you?"

This time Yuri cracked an eye open. "Why do you need to know?"

Flynn halted. Why _did_ he? There was no reason, aside from something inexplicable deep within him that called for more - more of this man and more of his voice, more of his eyes that seemed to dive in outer-space.

"I'm drawn to you." he blurted out.

Dumbfounded silence lasted for the span of a heatbeat before Yuri burst into laughter. "Aren't you an eager one!"

Oddly enough, Flynn felt less embarassement than marvel at the sound of Yuri's laughter. It was like a powerful gust of fresh, sweet air, clear and light and dazzling. Yuri smiled, but something curious sparked in his look that Flynn didn't know whether he liked or not.

"Can you keep a secret?"

He nodded. Yuri observed him carefully as if pondering whether or not he was worthy of an explanation. The moon shone even brighter when the man looked up into the sky.

"I guess I'm not what you'd call ordinary."

That much was obvious, Flynn thought. Yuri's suddenly soft tone didn't escape him, however, as it turned strangely melancholic.

"There's not a lot to tell. I was told my mother was a gypsy, poor and miserable. One night she climbed up this hill and begged the moon for a husband. Some people say she'd come to die, others that she'd wished to stem her madness – who knows. By sunrise, the moon had promised her marriage if she gave her firstborn away. You'd think she'd reconsider, huh? Well, looks like a wedding was worth sacrificing her only child."

Yuri chuckled bitterly. If Flynn knew any comforting words, he was unable to voice them. The air all around him had grown heavy and weighed on his heart with each word Yuri spoke.

"I was born shortly after. My father, furious that I was pale-skinned, disowned me at first sight and claimed my mother had been cheating on him. He beat her for answers, but all she could tell him was the truth he refused to believe." Yuri gazed somewhere far, far away, and Flynn couldn't tear his eyes away from his face. Perhaps he'd been placed under another spell, perhaps it was that grim look that locked his eyes to the man. "Eventually she died from her injuries and my father abandonned me on this hill. _She_ saw everything. _She_ heard him call me a bastard and saw him turn and never look back as he left me alone to die."

Flynn briefly wondered who _she _was, although he was starting to have an idea for Yuri never looked away from the moon shining above.

"Sometimes I think I should have."

Yuri's voice was low, barely a whisper in the silent clearing, and even though Flynn had had to strain to listen, the words struck him deep. They'd been so full of sadness, laced with pain and something akin to profound loneliness, that for a reason he didn't quite understand he found himself longing to chase them away. They didn't suit Yuri. Joy, cockiness, laughter suited him. Flynn hadn't known him for longer than an hour yet in that moment he wished to see Yuri smile more than anything. His hand reached for Yuri's before he'd even realized it, feeling complelled to do something, _anything_ to stop that dangerous train of thought. Yuri's fingers twitched beneath his own, but suprisingly enough he didn't shake his hand away.

"I don't think so." Flynn said.

Yuri stared down at their hands, silent, as though he was trying to figure out what to make of the gesture. Minutes dragged on while Flynn waited, trying in vain to ignore the searing warmth in his fingertips. The wind blew again, catching fallen leaves and flowers in its gentle breeze, whispering through the trees and the grass. Only then did he notice how quiet the clearing had been whilst Yuri'd been talking, as if nature had held its breath the entire time.

When Yuri finally, slowly looked up to meet his eyes, warmth instantly spread through Flynn's veins like a blazing fire. Perhaps he was imagining the watery shimmer in the man's dark eyes, swirling with emotions words couldn't convey. The icy mask had broken into something much more fragile and vulnerable – more intimate, somehow. Flynn was at loss for words, his mind racing to try and find out what to do next. He wanted to tell Yuri how wrong he was for believing his jerk of a father, for thinking so lowly of himself. He wanted to show him his worth and his beauty.

_You don't need to feel lonely anymore._

The words failed him when Yuri finally smiled. It wasn't crooked or cocky, but soft and absolutely dazzling. Yuri's smile alone sufficed to illuminate the clearing brighter than the moon ever would, and Flynn's heart skipped a beat. It promptly sped up again when Yuri intertwined their fingers and tightened his grip. Flynn understood what it meant:

_Thank you._

Slowly, he became aware of the unusual glow shining under their feet and gasped quietly when one by one, tiny spots of light ascended from the grass and flew into the night sky. Soon there were hundreds, thousands of lights floating above their heads, dancing in the wind as they lit up the entire woods. It reminded Flynn of the first snow of the year, glistening quietly in the dark, only upside down and flying toward the moon that hung proudly in the sky, watching over the sleeping world.

Flynn was mesmerized. He felt more alive than ever before and, for the first time in a long, long time, truly at home. A sense of belonging welled up in his chest and warmed his heart when his gaze met Yuri's, who was grinning from ear to ear. In the end, any thoughts of escaping the forest and heading back to the capital vanished to leave room for something much greater, much more meaningful.

As Flynn glanced up at the moon, he could have sworn he'd heard laughter whispering in the wind. Smiling, he closed his eyes and for the first time in his life, decided to follow his heart.


End file.
